YAY Family

It was so nice to finally see some family today. It fells like it's been forever. Ben, Nikea, Noah, Jag, Cindy and Greg showed up yesterday around 5. Levi was so excited to see his family ( so was i ) that we went and waited by the gate for them. It was pretty good timing cause we only had to wait for about 5 min. before they showed up. I was watching this green van drive by and i could have sworn i saw i white kid through the window but it kept on going. A min. later i see the same green van backing up. Ha i knew i saw a white kid. Anyway we got them and their 50 bags into their place and did our rounds of hugs. Ben and Kea were pretty excited to see everyone so an hour and a half later we were of to the meeting. After the meeting it was time for pizza and beer. Levi and Ben when for the pizza and Greg, Jag and myself took off looking of and open colmado for some beer. It was getting pretty late by then so off to bed we went. Today once they get a little more settled in i think we will head to the beach to meet up with the rest of the congregation. Maybe then i'll get some pics of something other then dirt and blocks. Haha.

Speaking of pics of dirt and blocks, here's some more!

They finally let Laura out of the supply trailer to get her hands dirty.

Filling the gaps between the blocks

The start of the second school.

Time for a juice break. No such thing as Timmies here. All thought i think i prefer the fresh squeezed juice over coffee any day.

I'm telling you there is so much concrete in this wall ( the second school) that it is the first place i'm heading if there is ever and earthquake or hurricane. Nothing is bringing this wall down. At the end of the day we had a lot concrete left so we just started pouring it down holes.

Ok so funny story. My job was to go around and fill any gaps in the blocks with concrete. So the wall to the left is the bathroom and see the two doors facing each other? Well the wall between them was not done yet so i just walked into the bathroom and preceded to do my job. While my back was turned they decided it was time to put up the rest of the wall. When i turned around there was now a wall where there once was not. I asked if could open the door but nope i could not. So i had to get the ladder and climb up the wall and jump off the other side.

The second school and bathrooms are really coming along. It's amazing how fast things seam to be moving now.

YAY levi finally got to do something other then dig a hole, he got to fill a hole. Haha. Yesterday morning levi sat on this wall all morning and dropped little rocks down into the blocks so they wont have to pour so much concrete down them. Yesterday we were trying to use up extra concrete and today we are trying to save it.

This is the start if the platform

Another juice break

Ok so all those little rocks that Levi was dropping down the holes, well it was my job to pick them out of the dirt. So no i am not playing in a sandbox, i really am working.

My rock picking partner

This is what the hall looks like as of noon yesterday.

Oh yeah another funny story. You'll notice that i'm no longer wearing a red hard hat in any of the pictures. Well that is because the only work shirt i have here is bright red (was bright red) and i always wear a red bandanna on my head and i was always given a red hard hat. With the combination of the three everyone one was always telling me how burnt i was getting and constantly telling me to put on more sunscreen. I do where sunscreen but i really don't need to put in on every 10 min. it was just the reflection of all the red making me look like a lobster. Thankfully Laura has stopped giving me red hats.

Any way hope all is well back home and everyone is surviving the cold. Miss you all and feel free to pass this blog on to anyone who is curious as to what we are up to cause trust me we're not just lounging in the sun, haha.

Doors and Windows and Walls Oh My!

WE FINALLY HAVE INTERNET. It was an exciting day around here when we got the internet working. I guess i no longer have an excuse for not updating this blog more often, so here is a photo update.

This was one of the days i was there to cut hair. I did everyone off site but i had to catch Hannah on the lot at the end of the day. When we asked where we were allowed to do it, we were sent to the back corner on the other side of the dirt pile. Not the nicest view but cleanup was a snap. Haha

Framir and Natanael teaching Levi some Dominican slang

Levi piking again. At least it's just a small one this time. The guys had to pike all the rough edges off the fence foundation before we could come along and put a skim coat over it.

Leslie smoothing out the final coat.

Yes we finally have a bathroom on site. No more having to walk 4 blocks to go to the bathroom. Although it was a good excuse to take a break.

Levi was trying to get Natanael to look like he was yelling at us but this was as mean as he would get. I spent the day sanding and painting in the shade. This is one of the front gates.

Ok so once you pick out all the "good" nails you then have to go back through the bucket and hammer the bent ones straight. Here is an action shot of Sareen (colby's sister) showing us how it's done!

This ones for you dad. I told you i could do it all!!!!!!!!

Mark " Hey you get that coconut right there and bring it to me, i'm thirsty"

Dee " How do i stop this thing"

Hehe. I don't know if you noticed by the background is the same in every one of these pictures. Mark and dee and i were just having a little fun while the boss's back was turned.

I must say that looked a little sketchy to me.

Ok so after it rained all night we show up in the morning and the ditch that the foundation is in is full of water and mud. They needed to lay the cinder block next so my job (along with a few others) was to go around with a sponge and soak up all the water and mud. Notice the size of the sponge. Not complaining, just thought it was funny.

So here they are following along behind us laying the cinder block.Blocks are done.

Ready to pour the floor.

It rained all last week and we were sure that the floor was not going to get done but sure enough they poured it anyway. Rain and all.Whoo hoo. We have a door.And a window.And a wall. Birds eye view

Me and Nadia

Mi amigas

Me and Lacey

Prepping the kitchen for the next day

This night we were on watchi man duty again. We were suppose to have a spanish test but oh well, duty calls. Anyway we had a fun night of learning how to play Dominos. I guess there is more to it then lining them up and knocking them down.

Notice, no hat. That means i'm winning!

Oh poor Levi. What wrong? Oh is that a hat on your head. Hehe

Techler, our Dominos teacher. It is so amazing how he can keep track of all the dominos and know exactly what you have. He laughed pretty hard when i lined them up and knocked them down to showed him how we play.

Opps i spoke to soon.

Saturday we set up at the market but it was not the nicest of days so there were not a lot of people around. It runs all week this week so we'll try again tomorrow.

Not a bad place to sit for the morning. It sure beats the mall parking lot.

Levi thought it would be a good day the other day to sit at the beach and paint. He thought he was safe because it wasn't sunny. And he wonders why i brought him SPF 60!

We did end up having our spanish test on friday and i must say i'm pretty proud of myself. And today i spent the morning in service with Miharu. She practiced her english and i practiced my spanish. Needless to say we were both exhausted by the end of the morning. Although it might also have something to do with walking from one end of town to the other and back again.

So that's the last week in a nut shell. Now we are just excited to finally see some family this weekend. Can't wait.

still no internet

Ok i know you can't rely on much in a third world country but this is getting ridicules. Our internet has been out for over a week again. Our downstairs neighbors tried to fix it but it sounds like it's done for a while. They somehow got the password to another neighbors internet and brought it up to us today. I think they felt bad for us cause we said the internet was our only connection to our family. It's pretty slow but it's something.

I hate to say it but i'm really missing the snow right now. Oh how i remember those cold winter night curled up under one of grandmas big heavy quilts sipping hot chocolate. I miss my grandma quilt. And my grandma. It was pretty chilly at the meeting the other night and i did actually have goose bumps but it's still not the same when you are sweating by 9 the next morning.

We're supposed to have a Spanish test tomorrow night but we are on watchi man duty so sounds like we might have to postpone for another time. Whefff more time to study. My Spanish is coming slowly but it's coming. Every day i think i understand just a little bit more. Ok maybe every week but it's coming. My hats off to ya Kea, it's hard. Sarah is a really good teacher thou and she's making things easy to understand. Everyone talks so fast so it's nice when people remember i'm only learning and talk in small slow sentences. It's even nicer when i know what they are saying. It's amazing though how many people all of the sudden throw out a little bit of english. You have to watch what you say because you never know who can understand you. haha.

Today was a laundry day for me and i did hair for one of the sisters from the build. We have been trying for two weeks to get her hair done but she is in charge of the kitchen and never has two mins. to sit down. Sundays and mondays are the days off so finally today we had a chance. Yesterday was a congregation pot luck for both the spaish and the crole. It's so much fun when everyone gets together. It's amazing how many different languages you hear in one spot. There was so much to do, volleyball, badminton, boce, ping pong, foosball, dominos, cards and of course dancing.

Levi spent the afternoon on the beach painting, trying to drum up some business. He thought he was safe cause it was cloudy but when he took off his white tank you really couldn't tell. It still looks like he is wearing a shirt. The poor boy looks like a lobster but it's his own fault. Don't tell him i said that, he doesn't like it.

There's a market that sets up here every saturday so i think this weekend we are going to try and get a table and set up levis paintings and my jewelry. It's first come first serve for the tables so we'll what happens. We're starting to see alot more orange wrist bands walking around town so the tourist must be back.

Whew that was alot but i think i'm up to date now. Oh wait, the kingdom hall, how could i forget. The fence around the lot is finally done so the actual hall is now being started. It feels like now there is progress. The forms are done and the floor is ready to be poured, i think. My day on saturday started off by hammering and scraping dried concrete off the rebar pillers then i got to move on to painting and sanding again. A nice easy job in the shade. Levi on the other hand had to swing a pike all day again. Poor boy. But no for real the pike is the hardest job there. It never ends. So exciting to see the progress.

Ok now i think that's all and i think i've taken up enough of your day. It's time to take Pica pee and go to bed. Oh no levi's complaining that he can't move. I think it's going to be a long night.